On January 1, 2024, a law came into force, based on an EU directive.
The law includes a ban on fires in the garden. Garden waste such as plant parts, grass clippings, leaves and branches must be disposed of in another way.
In an interview with News24 clarified Milla Sundströmmanager at the waste and chemicals unit at the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, what the new law meant for people with a garden and plot.
– You should hand it in at the recycling center in your municipality or compost it on site if you have the space to do so, she said then.
One fires in a barrel. Photo: Photographers Holmberg/TT.
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The law created confusion – was interpreted differently
The new law had gone over the heads of many, which ended in the government continuing work on the issue of garden waste. The lack of clarity also meant that the municipalities handled the law in different ways.
– It is clear that clarification of this regulation is needed so that there are not so many misconceptions, said Romina Pourmokhtari (L) to TT then.
The proposal: Then it may be allowed to fire again
Now the government backs down and proposes new rules for garden and park waste.
The government’s proposal states that it should be permitted to burn waste at one’s house if it can be done with minimal disturbance to the surroundings. But it will not be allowed year-round, according to the proposal.
Garden waste. Photo: Jeppe Gustafsson/STELLA Pictures.
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Therefore, the burning ban differs from municipality to municipality
Municipalities will, just like today, control when it is allowed to burn on their land. Milla Sundström at the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency explains why it differs between the municipalities.
– The fact that it looks different among the municipalities is due to the fact that the municipalities have different conditions. While you are spring cleaning the garden in southern Sweden, there may still be snow in the northern part of the country, so having different weeks when fires are allowed is not so strange, she tells Nyheter24, and continues:
– But of course it also depends on what the buildings etc. look like and simply what assessment the municipality makes of what consequences the fire can have, she tells Nyheter24.
Milla Sundström, manager at the waste and chemicals unit at the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.
As for the so-called fire weeks that exist in some municipalities, Sundström explains that they can come back depending on what the municipality in question decides on.
– When it comes to burning weeks, it is often something that has been applied for a long time and since the current rules came into force on January 1, 2024, higher requirements than before are set for the municipality to be able to prescribe about burning. For that reason, some municipalities have removed the heating weeks. But, as I said, there are now proposals for new rules again.
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Can you light a May bonfire?
Fires at public gatherings or public events that have a permit according to the Public Order Act should be allowed to be carried out, the government suggests, and the Environmental Protection Agency agrees.
May bonfire. Photo: Nisse Nilsson/STELLA Pictures.
This means that the exemption requirement for May bonfires can be removed.
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On December 1, the proposals can enter into force
The changes are proposed to enter into force on 1 December this year.
– When a decision has been made on new rules, we will produce guidance for them, but until then we refer to the government’s proposal and our consultation response, says Sundström at the Environmental Protection Agency.
Until the government has decided on the new regulation changes, the old rules apply from 1 January 2024.